Sunday, March 22, 2009

There were clearly several times this past year when my preschooler and Kindergartener needed to understand some crucial words. And when put to the the task (out of necessity) I totally came through on several occasions. At times, I would say my definitions and explanations of words were down right inspiring. A few of the words we've covered to date include, "karma", "adaptability", and "obnoxious".

I am going to blastoff my new Word of the Day campaign tomorrow with "gravity" and will need to come up some other big, important words which I can enlighten their gorgeous little heads with.

I'm shooting for meaningful words which they can use now, preferably relating to topics such as, but not limited to: the benefits of living in another country, how to treat your brother, and acting cool in public without bribes of Cadbury Chocolate mini-Easter eggs.

Stephen- My five year old keeps the dictionary close by at all times-- he told me that the Macquarie Dictionary means it's actually an Australian dictionary-- is that true-- or is it a brand as I thought. It's like the whole Texta marker thing?

My daughter's kinder class had a word of the week. I chuckle when I hear her use words like superlative, ubiquitous, tragedy, rambunctious, and minuscule. She is also a kid who finds it fun to read the dictionary.

The Macquarie Dictionary is an Australian English dictionary. It's a brand rather than a generic: I wouldn't ask for the Macquarie and expect to be handed any ol' dictionary like I would ask for a texta and be handed any ol' marker.

We recently introduced the word "karma" into Gus' vocabulary, and I'm regretting it a little now. The other day when I snapped at Gus and then tripped on something shortly after, he remarked "That's called karma". grrrrr.

Stephen Moore- So texta is to marker what kleenex is to tissue (well at leasve in the U.S.? I'm assuming-- it's a brand which turned into more of a generic name for something-- true-ish?

Steck- I really want to use "Onomatopoetic" and would be very thankful for any words to use as examples!

Dana- Karma was the first word I really made a big deal about-- and it worked like a charm. Just like Gus with you, my kids use it all the time with each other, it's hilarious... they totally understand the concept.

My son likes to play the Great Big Fancy Word game (http://www.nickjr.com/games/great-big-fancy-word-game.jhtml) on the computer (when he's not covered in dirt outside). It's got all sorts of 'great big fancy words' to learn.

the problem with teaching little boys delicious words is that they'll use them in the playground. then some bully who doesn't know what they mean might beat them up for being precocious.

This happened to a nephew of mine - in case you're interested the word he used was "pedantic". Maybe you should keep that one to yourself for a few years. Or at least tell him some version of this cautionary tale.....

well i love the word moot. its the best. i really want to hear one of the boys say that it's a 'moot' point. and also what about marinate. but not in terms of food. but rather to just sit with an idea for a while. these words could definitely be used in relationship to discipline. Like you say "i want you to marinate in that for a while" and the older one can say "you know mom the point is moot." that would crack my ass up.

You probably want to wait on this one for a few years, but on a recent trip to Chicago to visit my grandkids, they laughed themselves silly every time little Johnny said "that sounds a little like a pee-pee dance." Don't know where the kid who is only three got it, but it cracked me up all weekend.Tom Anselm, teacher and author,YOU'RE NEVER TOO OLD FOR SPACE CAMP

It says Pinky Dinky Doo or something like that. Honestly, my son found it...I had never heard of it before. My husband set up a profile on our computer specifically for him that has nick jr and pbs only on it. So, my son gets on the computer (puts in his name for the password, actually it's his last name now, he mastered his first name) and off he goes, playing games that I often can't figure out. Crazy. It's a little scary to think how much smarter he's going to be than me. I'm going to have to put my game face on in a few years.

About Me

I'm an American Expat with two adorable boys and a smart, sensible husband who bungee jumped once in the 80's and showed me the video to prove it.
Our family is living in Sydney, Australia for the second time. I currently drive on the left side of the road, wear winter clothes in June, and say "no worries".

Why am I here?

This blog is to chronicle my life abroad as an expat mom with small children.

It's easy to think that moving to Australia would not cause complete culture shock (being that we speak the same language for the most part), but in reality, it's not that simple.

I'm hopeful that at the end of this journey I will refer back to this blog and appreciate everything we've experienced and ultimately survived.

Update June 2014: We have just moved back to Sydney after spending 2.5 years in San Francisco. This is much easier the second time around because my kids already love Vegemite and I speak fluent Aussie.